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Google’s order for thousands of Waymo taxis has left many in the US government worried
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Published 10/21/2026 9:29:15 AM
Google’s order for thousands of cars for its Waymo taxi service has left many in the US government worried
Google’s Waymo has ordered thousands of vehicles built in China. The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company plans to import electric vans made by Zeekr, a brand of China’s Geely Holding Group, as it expands its driverless taxi service across the US. Waymo is reportedly on track to import about 5,100 vehicles by the end of 2026, more than doubling a fleet that has largely relied on Jaguar I-Pace SUVs.
According to a New York Post report, the arrangement has worried US lawmakers and safety experts because the vehicles come from China while operating cameras, sensors, and autonomous systems on American roads. Waymo says the imported vehicles contain no Chinese connected-car technology and receive their software and sensors in Arizona.
Why lawmakers are concerned about Waymo’s vehicles
Waymo has renamed the Zeekr vehicle Ojai. The vans are already operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, and the company is expanding their use to additional cities.
The company says it imports only the physical vehicle and installs its American-developed autonomous-driving equipment at its Arizona facility. However, former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adviser Missy Cummings said the vehicles would need inspection before they could independently verify their components.
“I would have to get in and look at the physical construction of the car to know that that’s absolutely true,”Cummings said.
“It’s very possible that the Chinese have layered in other sensors that are recording data and sending it back to China.”
Waymo rejected that concern, saying its vehicles undergo security testing and that it does not provide Zeekr with rider information, vehicle telemetry, source code, or data collected by its autonomous-driving system.
How the US government could affect Waymo’s expansion
US Commerce Department rules already restrict connected-vehicle software associated with China or Russia beginning with model-year 2027 vehicles. Restrictions on certain connected hardware are scheduled to apply from model year 2030.
Waymo says its arrangement complies with those rules because the Chinese-built vehicles arrive without the prohibited connected technology. A bipartisan proposal in Congress would close that opening by restricting vehicles manufactured in China, regardless of where their software and sensors are installed.
Senators Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026. House China Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar introduced companion legislation.
Moolenaar previously warned that
“hidden malware could disable fleets of cars and trucks or turn them into battering rams on wheels.”
The bill would give Waymo three years to phase out affected Chinese-built vehicles, requiring compliance by 2030. Although it advanced through a Senate committee, broader consideration was delayed until after the November elections.
What Waymo says about the security risk
Waymo said it supports restrictions targeting foreign connected-vehicle technology and takes steps to comply with federal requirements.
“For any base vehicle Waymo uses, Waymo actively takes steps to ensure that they are in compliance with the government’s connected vehicle rules. Additionally, Waymo does not share personally identifiable information about Waymo riders, Waymo vehicle telemetry data, or data collected through Waymo’s automated driving system with vehicle manufacturers,”a company spokesperson said.
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With Californians set to vote in just a few weeks on Proposition 40 – a measure proposing a one-time 5% wealth tax on the state's billionaires – Google co-founder Larry Page has emerged as the wealthiest tech titan to sever ties with the state should the measure pass. His departure is likely to deal a significant blow to California's revenue projections as he will be the richest techie to leave the state. The initiative specifically targets billionaires who were state residents as of January 1, 2026. While a few prominent executives, such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, have stated they are "perfectly fine" with the proposal, multiple ultra-wealthy residents chose to exit before the January deadline.
Chief among them is the 53-year-old Page. Holding an estimated net worth of $292 billion, Page had deep roots in California spanning decades, Fortune reported, adding that had he remained a California resident past the cutoff date, he would have owed an estimated $15 billion under the one-time tax levy.
Moving entities to Delaware and buying big in Miami
State filings have revealed that Page began unwinding his operational and personal presence in California late last year.
According to an analysis of corporate records reported by Fortune, Page’s family office, Koop, was transferred out of California and officially incorporated in Delaware in late December. Multiple associated entities, including Flu Lab LLC, One Aero and Oceankind, followed the same route, moving their registrations from California to Delaware during the same month.
Simultaneously, Page redirected significant capital toward luxury real estate on the East Coast. The Wall Street Journal reported that Page acquired two premier estates in Miami for a combined $173.4 million, which includes Coconut Grove Estate ($101.5 million, 11,855-square-foot property) and a neighboring parcel purchased for $71.9 million.
The $29 billion dent in Prop 40’s target
The departures of top-tier billionaires have already weakened the potential financial yield of the ballot measure. Prop 40 was projected to generate roughly $100 billion for the state. However, according to an estimate by Fortune, just four departed tech leaders – Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Thiel and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick – would have collectively owed approximately $29 billion. Their relocations before the residency cutoff mean the state has effectively lost out on more than a quarter of the measure's total projected revenue pool before ballots are even counted.
Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, moved to Texas in 2020. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos who recently but briefly secured the second richest person spot, departed Seattle for Miami in late 2023, eventually selling his Hunts Point home for a record $63 million to live in a $237 million Miami compound with his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
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